


Stack the Odds

by rainsonata



Category: Elsword (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, because AT and MM's losing animation are stacking Dynamo but failing to, you would think Dom would have an easier time with cubes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-07-09 02:57:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19880482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainsonata/pseuds/rainsonata
Summary: Having a more responsive Dynamo makes it efficient in battle and experiments, but it has its downsides. Dominator still can’t stack Dynamo when Doom Bringer decides to fix that.





	Stack the Odds

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on April 20, 2018 on tumblr.

Seated in a cushioned chair with his legs crossed, it was a rare moment for Dynamo - all six of them to be inactive with no screen monitors projecting the scientist’s newest research nor analyzing codes he found the week before. They idled at Dominator’s eye level, bumping into each other when he moved his eyes across the book Ciel lent to him.

Thin lining in its leather binding gave it a rugged, yet smooth texture from years of wear being handled by oily hands. Unlike the archaic books from the ancient nasod library, the pages were the color of alabaster and smelled of old wood.

Dominator scoffed at Ciel’s enthusiasm when he learned about the scientist’s interest in cooking **(1)** , but if it was that important to the butler, he supposed it couldn’t hurt to accept the book. He should at least check to see if it was worth his time before scanning the pages for his ever-growing collection of research papers (Cooking is a science! So, this counted as research, right?).

The crinkling sound when he turned the pages made Dominator smile, a reminder of a simpler time when he didn’t know the world beyond the mansion he lived with his family. He went to the index first after skipping the author’s forward without bothering to even read the first sentence. If he wanted to pretend to give half a damn about how Lanox cuisine changed the author’s life, he could have let Ciel ramble instead if the loquacious man wasn’t busy bumbling about how cute Lu was.

The index expanded several pages on meals to last a person for months, maybe years. It covered three main meals a day, desserts, appetizers, sauces, soups, and salads. How could a normal human being have the time or knowledge to fill hundreds of pages on only food?

His mind was relaxed enough for Dynamo to lower themselves closer to the ground. Outside of battle, they shone a sliver of white light to illuminate the pages when Dominator flipped to a page to look at a recipe for a special type of meat marinated in a spicy sauce. They could be served with rice or with a soup for chilly days.

He reached out to grab one of the Dynamo to place it on the table. Feeling his hand around its otherwise smooth surface, there was an indent to where the lines met for each side of its face. Their corners were cut off at the edges to make them sleek, almost circular. Ah… he would need ingredients. He could borrow some from Ciel or go to the market tomorrow.

The second and third cube were stacked on top of the first after Dominator bookmarked that recipe with a sticky tab. The scientist straightened them with his hands while biting his tongue and squinting his eyes. He wasn’t sure what led to this, but at least it ceased his growing restlessness. Dynamo towered over him, leaning towards him and hummed when he readied himself for the fourth cube.

He went back to the index at the beginning to find the recipe for the fruit tart he wanted. The recipe called for blueberries to give the jam a royal blue color when mixed with the cream, but maybe he could replace it with the starfruit from their trip to Elysion. Thinking about the fruit was enough for him to taste the tarty flavor they had, but there wasn’t a problem sugar couldn’t solve.

The sound of something heavy being dropped on the floor forced Dominator to turn around to see a purple cube at his feet. Its cat ears perked up when it beamed with its pixelated face when it saw him. Apocalypse squeaked when it hovered towards Dominator with jittery movement.

Oh no…

Despite feeble attempts to hold his breath, he feared the possibility of Apocalypse bumping into the table as it approached him. Dynamo vibrated in anticipation as if realizing their fate. The tower of Dynamos tumbled when Apocalypse flew into them and sent the cubes scattered across the table.

Before they could crash, the sextuplet weapon levitated in suspension before they could hit the floor. Dynamo lined themselves behind him with Dominator leaning his body forward to catch Apocalypse in his arms when the cube failed to keep itself in the air. The cube let out a weak meow.

_Low battery._

Red letters flashed in his eyes when a hologram screen popped up from Dynamo. Dominator slid the screen away and sighed in dismay for the interruption. So much for trying to build a tower out of Dynamo. Even so, he reassured Apocalypse with his voice and petted its head to soothe it. Apocalypse must have struggled to find the charging station after he moved his stuff to test something, so it searched for its master. He stood up from his seat to bring Apocalypse to the charging station in his lab with the cube in his arms.

Maybe another time.

* * *

Dynamo rolled back when Dominator swung his arms to stretch with his eyes looking down at his white gloves. It was 1:38 PM when he sat in the living room, waiting for Paradox to appear so he could accompany him to the market. It was ironic how his counterpart who specialized in time had a tendency on losing track of time when he made it clear that they should have met up half an hour ago.

After Paradox’s return from his long absence, they rearranged their furniture to make the living room more spacious. Two bookshelves were pushed together to take up the wall on one side of the room with the couch and sofa adjacent with the coffee table placed in between them. White curtains were pulled away to allow sunlight casting onto the mahogany floor.

The once bare walls were painted in lilac and grew into a collection of photographs. Some of them were with members of the El Search Party and of the numerous places they visited in Elrios, but many of them were of the occupants who lived in the house they shared. In the corner of the room was a small gallery of flower pressing art done by Paradox. They were all sealed in glass picture frames.

Dominator sunk into the couch to count the dots on the ceiling, closing his eyes before fluttering them open. His heavy eyelids begged and he was ready to surrender to a short nap when Dynamo dropped and hit him on the head. It was like having a giant block of ice dropped on his face with how cold they were. Rubbing his red forehead, he glared at the cubes. Apocalypse released a chirping noise not unlike a giggle beside him.

When did Apocalypse learn that sort of behavior? Could that be Bringer and Paradox’s influences? He glowered at the cat cube, who beamed at him and meowed innocently.

He hugged the cubes in one arm as he kneeled to pick them up and place put them on the table with mild annoyance. With the number of times they dropped because he lost his concentration and forgot to deactivate them, it was a good thing he made it a priority for them to be durable. Even so, that didn’t solve the problem to how sensitive they were to his state of mind. It was a common feature he and his counterparts had for Dynamo, but even more so for him.

He lowered his body to cross his legs on the floor until his head were at the same level as Dynamo. Every breath was controlled, his mind and body already experienced in manipulating the multi utility weapons as Dominator began stacking them.

The first three cubes were easy because there wasn’t a challenge to balance them. Lines ran through the center of the cube and shone in pale light when Dominator took the time to line them into a perfect array. There was satisfaction when there was only but a slight wiggle from them as he looked back to see the tower standing.

Good, now stay like that!

By the time Paradox will arrive, he will finish stacking Dynamo and the crows will sleep. While nasods were useful in carrying test samples and material, Dominator preferred human hands to help carry the more fragile ingredients. There were spices and herbs he needed to buy from the market to prepare today’s meal for he and his counterparts. He could always use the extra ingredients to pay back Ciel for lending him the cookbook.

Dynamo remained grounded on the table, but they began to quiver after the fourth or fifth cube. It was hard to contain his pride when he saw them form into a perfect tower, but stopped himself from celebrating yet. Apocalypse may have interrupted him last time, but he made sure the destructive cube was recharged before he left his room today.

“You look occupied~”

Dominator hardly bat his eyes to the sound of Paradox’s voice, a deep voice that grew nasally and cracked when he cackled. Expecting Paradox to be hanging upside down and sticking his head out of a portal, there was confusion when he looked up. Where was his voice coming from? He didn’t hear the crackling noise from Paradox’s portals. There was no portal on the floor either when he looked down.

“Wrong way.” Paradox snickered, “Behind you.”

Dominator turned around to see a man with eyes as black as tar. Wearing a black top with a giant coat slipped off to reveal his shoulders, Paradox’s lengthy hair touched the floor when he moved. He occupied the doorway that led the living room to the kitchen and for once walked through it like a normal goddamn human being.

“You used the door!” Dominator couldn’t believe it. In what universe was he living in to see the asshole use one without having a portal to shove his leg up his face? “What? No portal nonsense today?”

“Are you disappointed?” Paradox looked at him in bemusement.

No! Dominator fumed at where he thought Paradox was, but his counterpart was gone. One would think he would be used to it when they had known each other for years, but he was still impressed how Paradox left without a trace.

Pink light flashed and Dominator shielded his eyes from being blinded. The familiar crackling sound not so different from Bringer’s static electricity caused tension in the room and made his hair stand up when there was loud pop from above. He looked up to see the source of the sound when he heard Paradox’s voice.

“Is this better?” Paradox sang.

He jumped from his seat with Dynamo breaking out of their formation and into a jagged line as Dominator fought the urge to smack his counterpart. Paradox stuck his head out from the side with long hair strands hanging down. With a mouth full of sharp teeth, Paradox brought his arms out to cup Dominator’s face until they were merely inches apart.

Dominator gritted his teeth, “Paradox…” Dynamo encircled him and pointed to Paradox in anger with their master.

“Oops, did I break your toys?” Paradox said with a cheeky grin, “They fall apart so easily.”

Paradox stepped out of his portal and laughed when Dominator glared at him for breaking his concentration. He stopped smiling when Dominator jabbed him on the side. Paradox’s true form burst and he reverted to a child.

“Did I keep you waiting for that long?” Paradox tugged on Dominator’s sleeves for attention, “Is that why you’re sulking?”

“Let’s go,” Dominator didn’t need Paradox to know he was mad over something as trivial as stacking Dynamo. It was already bad enough that Paradox knew about his liking for cute things. “Before the market closes.”

Paradox didn’t question him further, but he covered his mouth in what looked like a giggle when they left the house.

* * *

Cooking wasn’t a problem when he had Dynamo helping him. Dominator had the cookbook propped against the wall on the kitchen counter with Apocalypse keeping him company. He was relieved to learn that it didn’t take long for the meat to soak up the sauce he prepared according to the recipe. It was well marinated when he took it out from the fridge and threw away the plastic wrap covering it. He had Dynamo slash and dice the vegetables while waiting for the soup broth to boil in a pot.

It wasn’t an anomaly for him to grocery shop, but maybe he got too excited when he all those vegetables on sale and bought more than he could chew. The vegetables Dominator was using for today’s meal wasn’t even half of what he bought, but he was sure he could use them later for another recipe he wanted to try. He finished cutting up the last leek when he heard the water boil. Hot air and steam reached his face when he pop opened the lid to see bubbles forming to the surface.

Dominator turned the stove to high heat to add the marinated meat into the pot with the meat sizzling into a light brown. The meat was cut into thin slices to be cooked over boiling water with chopped vegetables in a pot at high heat. It wasn’t a meticulous recipe that required the precision Hamel cooking had. He could understand why Ciel enjoyed cooking Lanox cuisine if most of them were like this.

The heavy fragrance was not overwhelmed by its meaty component, but balanced from the freshness of the onion and green onion. The salt and fish sauce brought out the individual flavors of the ingredients, while the sweet carrots binded the broth together into a light airy aroma. The earthly mushrooms with the hot pepper flakes summoned the warmth of an open fire on the first day of winter.

There were minutes left for the soup to boil when Dominator cleaned the cutting board and left it on the dish rack to dry. Apocalypse chirped. Dominator gave it a pat on the head for being patient and smiled.

He wiped the kitchen counter when he spotted a speck of dirt on it and frowned. Dynamo were clean of course, but they were as impatient as Dominator and were restless when they idled beside him and knocked into each other.

Dominator placed his hand on one of them with index finger on his lips as if shushing them. They were motionless when he picked one of them up and placed it on the counter in another attempt to stack them. He pushed a cube on top of the first with his middle and index fingers until the edges lined up. Failing two times in a row…well, three times the charm, right?

There wasn’t a lot of time before he needed to check on the soup, so he needed to be quick. It took minimal effort for Dominator to have the first two cubes balance on top of one another with the next one joining. He felt frustration when the third cube lost its footing and knocked down the stack for another attempt. When he reached the fourth cube, his palms grew sweaty, his hands shaking in anticipation on how close he was. By luck of some kind, Dynamo remained standing when Dominator reached the last piece.

When stacked together, Dynamo towered over him with Dominator looking pleased with his work. The sound of water bubbling came from the stove when it hit him that he forgot about the food. Dynamo wobbled at the realization with Dominator rushing over to see bubbles foaming to the surface and hot steam blasting his face.

“Add?” Bringer’s voice was heard over the mess.

His mind turned numb and his fingers felt fuzzy, a bizarre sensation that made his hands icy cold when he tried rubbing them against his coat sleeves. Dynamo vibrated in the same slightness in the movement of his hands and fingers with Dominator resisting the panic catching up to him.

“Are you alright?” Bringer entered the kitchen with concern.

Wiping his eyes, Dominator rushed past the Doom Bringer to turn off the stove and flip the stove fan. His eyes snapped shut at the sound Dynamo made when they hit the countertop like a hammer shattering glass.

He probed the meat with a pair of chopsticks to pull them apart into thin shreds. It was a hearty soup with a clear consistency. The meat was cooked all the way and the vegetables maintained their bright colors. Dominator spun around when he realized his counterpart was present and gave the other a weak smile.

“I have everything under control,” Dominator had his hands on his hips. It was more of a statement to convince himself, but he saw Bringer shaking his head.

How much did Bringer see? He kept his cool, but he was sure Bringer saw and Dominator covered his lower face to hide his embarrassment. Dynamo perked up and returned to Dominator, floating behind him with small sparks of static electricity. He frowned when he flattened strands of hair sticking up from the static.

“Dinner will be ready soon,” Dominator ignored the stares his counterpart gave him.

Bringer didn’t argue, but the scientist knew this wouldn’t be the end of it. He saw crinkles in the corner of his eyes, an all-knowing smirk that placed Dominator in a dilemma between kissing the idiot or punching him. Probably both.

“What’s so funny?” Dominator felt blood reach to his ears.

“Seeing you in an apron and making dinner,” Bringer covered his mouth with his hand and chuckled. “It’s so normal.”

Dominator wore pink apron with cat prints and pockets on the sides for whatever he needed to have at his disposal - in this case, extra batteries for Dynamo. Even with the newest updates, battery power was always a problem. He rolled up his turtleneck sleeves from earlier while he was cooking to expose the cuts and scars on his arms.

“What are you doing?” Dominator saw Bring move in the corner of his eyes.

With the fluffy coat off, Bringer had his tank top and short sleeved jacket on to show off the tattoos on his arms. They flickered under the kitchen lighting as he reached out for Dynamo.

“How long have you been stacking these?” Bringer stopped when Dominator gave him a hard-eyed look. He scratched the back of his neck and responded with a sheepish grin.

Bringer saw his tic, Dominator thought in disbelief. They were past the point of learning each other’s quirks and behaviorisms, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be embarrassed about it.

“As long as you were here,” Dominator said.

“Can I try?”

It wasn’t that he didn’t believe Bringer. There was no humor in his tone, but seeing him share the same fascination with Dynamo was surreal. Could it be because Dynamo were cubes, it tempted people into stacking them?

“Don’t get them dirty,” Dominator feigned annoyance, but found himself smiling at the absurdity of their chitchat. “I just cleaned them.”

Delighted was the right word to describe Bringer’s reaction. One would think his birthday came early by the way Bringer clapped his hands with a toothy grin. Dominator’s expression grew stiff when his counterpart held up one of the cubes with care. There was no reason for Bringer to act like they were fragile. Bringer placed his hand on Dominator’s shoulder because he thought the scientist was nervous.

“You can have ‘em back after this,” he promised.

The meathead better return them! Dominator twitched at the image of his counterpart running off with half a dozen cubes in his arms and a shit-eating grin to match. Even if Bringer attempted, Dominator could always summon them back, but regardless, the brawler nodded in understanding. Maybe it was because of the dark vibes or the glares Dominator was sending him.

Nevertheless, he figured he could humor Bringer to see how far his counterpart would go. Maybe Dominator could finally put his mind to rest without any more interruptions.

* * *

There was no reason why he shouldn’t be unsatisfied with Dynamo. They have done more than enough to serve their master, following his train of thought before the Dominator could form those thoughts into words. While their purpose was to collect data and serve as weapons, they have become more than that. Dynamo had become an extension of himself, his extra eyes and limbs. He could rely on his reflexes to have them at his disposal as long as he didn’t space out.

Dominator felt unsettled restlessness, he felt vulnerable with Dynamo in Bringer’s hands. Just a piece of scrap metal, no need to make a fuss over letting his counterpart look at it. Bringer repaired them before, but this was the first time he inspected it while it was connected to Dominator. Bringer placed the first cube on the countertop with an unreadable expression.

Did Bringer find entertainment in treating Dynamo like a toy of some sort because of its non threatening appearance? Dynamo were formed into cubes, and even the edges have been cut off to give them a smoother texture. The transition from the old design Dynamo had to its current form was a substantial change that had earned him many questioning looks from Bringer and Paradox.

“Can you hold Dynamo?” Bringer tapped his nails on the table. His voice cut through the silence and brought Dominator back to reality. The cube was sliding away from them, threatening to fall off if it came any closer to the edge of the countertop.

“Sorry,” Dominator mumbled.

He took deep breaths to focus his mind to bring it more interior to the counterpart to allow Bringer to place the second cube on top. Dynamo’s cores glowed and lined up. Shaking his head, he wiped his eyes and mused if he should have drank more coffee.

“Where did you learn to make this?” Bringer moved his hands in a circle as a gesture to the food. “The butler?”

“I borrowed his book,” Dominator said. “Is it bad?”

He shook his head, “Looks good. I could smell it from the lab.”

Dominator’s eyes were on Dynamo, but his mind was elsewhere. Bringer complimented his cooking. Well, of course Bringer would be impressed! His food was always at par with the recipes he took them from. And yet, something bubbled from the pit of his stomach. It was a tingling feeling that made it hard to look at Bringer. He couldn’t stop smiling for the praise.

“You’re moving them again.”

The countertop shifted, the cubes vibrating with an audible hum of excitement. Dominator covered his face and counted backwards from ten. His embarrassment only aggravated them. He saw white sparks flying from Dynamo and shook. His mind was a jumbled mess of emotions.

“Hey,” Bringer placed his hand on Dominator’s shoulder and took his hand. He placed Dynamo on Dominator’s palm with a kind expression. “Wanna try together?”

Dominator looked at the stacked cubes with wonder. That’s right, they weren’t done. They weren’t perfectly aligned, but they were standing. He gave Bringer a small nod and found it easier to look at him this time. Bringer traced the lines on Dominator’s right palm with care, between his thumb and ring finger.

Bringer kissed his fingertips before pressing them against his knuckles. Their eyes met. Bringer’s eyes held a shine that wasn’t from the mechanical eye dear Asker gave to them. Dominator looked at him in disbelief when Bringer dragged his lips over Dynamo’s smooth surface and gave it a kiss. The scientist was in a daze when Bringer took his hand to help him place Dynamo on top of the growing stack.

“Good job,” Bringer rested his head on Dominator’s shoulder. “More than halfway.”

Four cubes. They were a perfect fit and didn’t tilt, but Bringer didn’t let go of his hand. Dominator adjusted them without touching the cubes, the Dynamos hovering an inch or so apart to be lined up.

Dominator set them down once he was satisfied, but not before he felt his arm being tugged. He turned for Bring to bring him closer and lower his head to bury his face in Dominator’s hair. A kiss on the head left Dominator rubbing the top where a stray cowlick stuck up, his cheeks dusted pink.

He felt where Bringer kissed him, running his hand through his roots to pull out a strand of loose hair. The base of it started out a grayish color and curled up at the end in a white, almost lilac hue.

Amid the confusion, Dynamo escaped his grasp when Bringer stole the next cube in his hand. Touching his lips lightly on the edges, Bringer felt Dominator’s luminous eyes burning into the back of his head. He snickered when Dominator swiped it back and placed it on top of the previous cubes with determined eyes.

“Five,” Dominator whispered. He refused to let his counterpart’s cocky attitude get to him if he wanted Dynamo to remain standing. “Almost…”

Bringer covered his mouth to hide his amusement, but that didn’t hide the lights in his eyes. As he grabbed the cube floating beside Dominator, the brawler leaned to cup his face until they could feel each other’s hot breaths. Dominator closed his eyes as Bringer moved his lips over to the right side of his face, a peck on the cheek.

Dominator’s eyes fluttered open. That’s it? Bringer brushed his lips over the pristine surface of Dynamo in his hand. His lips moved in slow motion, pressed together to form into a small circle when Dominator yanked it out of Bringer’s grasp. If Bringer was going to deprive him of a proper kiss, then he’ll be damned if he didn’t take the situation into his own hands.

He grabbed Bringer by the arms and turned him around until the other’s back was against the countertop edge. Dominator tapped his lips with his hand and Bringer was taken by surprise, cheeks glowing. The smoldering gaze Dominator held was enough to have the brawler whine when the scientist pinned him using his arms on Bringer’s shoulders.

“Mine,” Dominator purred.

* * *

It was worth seeing Bringer drop that stupid smirk when Dominator leaned over in what looked to be an intimate moment, only to have his head go over the brawler’s shoulder to practically toss the last cube. Dominator eyeballed his aim and dropped Dynamo into the neat stack behind Bringer with the rest of the cubes. The scientist beamed in seeing Dynamo stacked without faltering.

Although it would have been easier to disconnect Dynamo from his headset to stack them, how could he do that when he was always in the middle of something? It was never a problem to control them anyway. Seeing them form into a perfect stack was enough to please Dominator.

He turned to see Bringer scowling, although it was more like pouting with his arms crossed. Bringer sucked in his breath to flatten his puffed-out cheeks, a resemblance to a pufferfish learning how to breathe.

“Congrats,” Bringer glared at the stack. His voice wavered, “You finished.”

Oh? Was that annoyance he sensed?

Dominator had his hand on Bringer’s shoulder to usher the other to look at him. Eyes identical to his looked back, observant to see what Dominator would do next. The brawler’s heartbeats echoed against his ribcage with Dominator’s hand over the chest. Its even rhythm soothed his nerves. Bringer softened his expression and rested his chin against Dominator’s head.

Engraved into Bringer’s neck was a rough piece of skin several tones darker than the rest of his body. The scar was where the choker he used to wear as Lunatic Psyker was, a rough leathery texture. Dominator placed his right hand on Bringer’s neck to bring him closer. Bringer lowered his head to allow Dominator to lean over to press his forehead against the other, the scientist closing his eyes with a tender smile.

Bodies pressed together, Bringer brought his arms together and wrapped them around Dominator’s waist and lifted him off the ground by an inch or so. The sudden shift in weight had Dominator’s face flash red. Seeing Dominator flustered had the brawler chuckle in what would have earned him a smack if he wasn’t being manhandled. Bringer all but moaned when he saw the scientist’s heated gaze.

Bringer’s lips were almost smooth if not for little imperfections in the cracks and lines of his upper lips. It was a familiar gesture for Dominator to cup his face and close his eyes as their lips met. His skin was burning as Dominator pressed his cold hands on it with feverish worry.

“What the hell was that?” Bringer croaked.

“What’s that kissing Dynamo instead of me?” Dominator questioned back.

There was no anger in his words because he enjoyed teasing Bringer. He took pleasure on how easy it was to coax an earnest reaction out of the brawler, but his flustered face seemed to have made Bringer embarrassed too. Any more of it and his counterpart might lose his breath!

Tugging his counterpart’s front bangs to the side, Dominator tucked them behind the brawler’s ear for a better view of Bringer’s eyes and a kiss on the cheek. His lips tasted like salt and saliva when their lips meshed. It was a tangled mess matched, a poor coordination on Dominator’s part because his agitation. How _dare_ Bringer take his time to reach him after giving Dynamo all the attention. It was only natural for Dominator to want a reward for his patience.

A short gasp escaped from Bringer’s lips as Dominator brushed over his llower lip and nipped at it. His tongue edged close to Bringer’s teeth, mapping the insides but always backing out before the brawler could whine. He lit up but whimpered when Bringer mouthed at his upper lip, leaving it swollen.

Dominator closed his eyes as Bringer took his hand and caressed his face. He could feel the rough texture of the brawler’s callouses, bumpy outlines as reminders of the hard work Bringer put into his research and what he had gone through. He nuzzled his cheekbone against it.

“Is that all?” Bringer asked. He gently pulled his hand away to give Dominator a serious look, “It’s just Dynamo.”

Dominator smirked, “How about you kiss Apocalypse too?”

“Like hell I will,” Bringer nearly choked, his face tinged pink. “I rather kiss you than Apo-!” He stuttered in what was meant to be verbal jab. Bringer covered his mouth from saying more, but Dominator heard enough.

A crash echoed behind them. Dynamo tumbled over and hit the tiled floor in a cluttered mess. Dominator gave him a peck on the lips before letting go of Bringer to extend his arms for Dynamo. Not that it was needed when they could suspend themselves on their own without their master’s help. Regardless of that, the scientist cradled them in his arms with an apologetic look.

“I think… we got distracted.” Bringer laughed, “Sorry, I lied about not taking long.”

Dominator snorted, but found himself disappointed to the abrupt end of their kiss. He touched his lips with his fingertips to where the brawler’s lips once were. Their moment together made the scientist blush because of an earlier statement.

“You rather kiss me than Apocalypse?” Dominator chuckled, “That’s sweet of you.”

Rubbing his forehead, Bringer looked away. “Have you tried kissing a cube? They’re cold and flat. Dynamo tried to shock my mouth!”

“That one’s your fault,” Dominator said with bemusement. “I don’t see you putting your Dynamo in your mouth.”

“Hey!”

“Help me if you don’t want Apocalypse chasing you out.” Dominator teased him.

Bringer sulked and crossed his arms, but agreed on helping him put the dishes in place and line the silverware. Dominator didn’t miss how Bringer drooled at the food. He could tell the pot wouldn’t last long with how much the three of them ate. That’s why he made sure to make enough for extra servings.

It was hard not to smile along with Bringer when their work was done. As ridiculous as it sounded, it was how mundane the routine was that made Dominator content. It wasn’t special or particularly exciting like working out new inventions or untangling yet another mess Elsword and friends made, but it was quiet moments like this that made him happy.


End file.
